Monthly challenge : December

AHAAA...i know i know its like the middle of December and a monthly challenge should start in the beginning of the month. buuuttt I think I have a fairly good amount of time to do a monthly challenge :P

For this month's challenge, my main focus of the challenge is still about losing weight and getting fit and leaner. I'm planning to go on a hiking trip to Mount Kinabalu in Sabah before I turn 23 years old. Reason why before that age? My mum hiked up the mountain when she was 21. Because of that, I NEED to hike up before I turn 23.

I'm planning to climb up in sometime next year. Most probably after I've graduated (inshallah) and go hike up there with my dad. I haven't planned much yet as I'm still checking a few options.

OK! back to this month's challenge.

I found a post on pinterest (a great source of wonders and information!) about the 30 day fitness challenge. Some of you may have heard of it before, and I may just be so slow at following the latest trends...but its worth a shot and this month, I'm gonna do the

ABS AND SQUAT CHALLENGE!!! 

I'm pumped and ready and gonna go through with this! YEAH!

xx,

Sarah

First post in December~

Can you believe how fast time flies?

Its pretty much the middle of December and that means the end of 2014 AND the end of Semester 1 of my 3rd year in Architecture.

(yes thats my cat, Zoey looking out the window and the succulents I planted about 8 months back..now most of the succulents are dead...)

This month is finals month probably all around the globe. hahaha Things here are currently crazy and disorganised. Overdue assignments...final project hanging on the line...my whole existence on this planet is a mystery and questionable. If you're like me, at the edge of it all....gimme a virtual high 5! KAHKAH.

To be honest, everyone that I talk to...my boyfriend, my parents, my studio mates all say the same thing. Life IS like that and nothing is gonna get easier but we'll eventually (and hopefully) become smarter and learn from our mistakes and move forward and achieve something great! (so many ands....) 

I started out this blog to be pretty much about my daily ramblings or when I'm frustrated and a place for me to be all philosophical. (and probably whine a lot) hahaha but at the same time...I hope whoever reads this will know that you're not alone and everyone is going through something similar or on par to what you're going through. 

SO TODAY, while I am busy ignoring my workload for about 30 minutes...I'd like to share my tips on how to not get too stressed when you're going through finals. Or maybe you can even use these tips even if you're working. maybe it'll help. I donno.worth a shot riiiighht ;D 

1. TALK TO SOMEONE

Maybe its just me....but I find talking to someone tends to help me realise what exactly I'm suppose to be doing. I'd get so uptight about my situation and eventually will go through an emotional breakdown. I talked to my parents. Talked to my boyfriend and I even talked to my lecturer. (I literally broke down infront of my lecturer and my friend, Iqbal)

You can and you should talk to whoever you feel comfortable with. Apart from being able to let go of the emotional baggage thats clinging you down...you get a fresh perspective from someone, especially from someone not in the same scene as you are. (exp: family, loved one, really close best friend, cat)

2. WRITE IT OUT

Sometimes talking isn't you're thing. And thats cool. Maybe you're shy and you don't really feel comfortable talking about something as intimate as this. I feel the same way.

(Dear introverts, please stop saying you hate small talk but love deep conversations...how are you even suppose to go into a deep conversation without the small talk????) (sorry..thats just my honest opinion. feel free to accept it or curse me about it)

Writing it out will really help you let go of some of the emotional baggage. 

3. Write out whatever that needs to get done. AND STICK TO IT!

To be honest...I'm a terrible at this. I totally suck at this but it helps you realise the stuff that needs to get done. Having total discipline in sticking to it is something I'm still lacking on. But I truly believe this is like the basics.

4. Allow yourself to sleep.

AAAhhh....Sleep....the most rewarding thing to an architecture student...and I believe to anyone really. Sleep is important. and by default we normally sleep for about 8 hours (just an average estimation here). If you're tired and you don't want to look at the auto cad drawing anymore, allow yourself to rest. Your mind needs to rest and so does your body. There's no point of you setting your alarm every hour only to snooze it and be tired the next day and not get any work done. Sucks right? sleep. wake up at a reasonable hour and get to work. you'll function better and your body will thank you for it.

5. Allow yourself to go out and eat.

Eat. Sleep. Its basic human necessities. As an architect, you design buildings for HUMANS. You design buildings for their comfort and for them to carry out their basic human needs. I'm pretty sure YOU'RE HUMAN TOO! so stop torturing yourself. GO OUT AND EAT. (or cook, if you're on a tight budget)

6. Pet your cat/dog/animal companion and ask them to do your work for you

HAHA ok I'm kidding about the whole work thing. But relaxing with your pet is really nice. and according to some pets book I read waaaaayyy back. They say petting an animal and lower your stress levels. I donno bout you. but i definitely love smothering my cat.

you can obviously tell she is not so keen on snuggling with me...hahahaha but she keeps me company during my late hours.

7. Set realistic goals 

There's nothing more depressing than setting unrealistic goals like completing all my floor plans tonight or gonna do 3 assignments at once. KNOW YOUR LIMITS and KNOW WHAT YOU'RE CAPABLE OF DOING. 

Im very new to the whole Computer Aided Drafting softwares and I know the very very very basic of 3D modelling with Sketchup. Because of that I know I am slow in my work. I know it is unrealistic for me to achieve completing all my floor plans and elevations in one night and before midnight. (thats when the sandman visits and starts sprinkling his magic sleeping sand on my eyelids and I get so sleepy). 

So for myself, I know I can only do a couple of elevations in a night and work my way around it. of course I do my best to work faster. 

8. 80% of the problem in your head is really...JUST IN YOUR HEAD!

Do whatever it takes to get your work done. The only person stopping you is YOU (so cliche...I knowwww) but thats the truth. You and your beautiful creative brain is the only stopping you from doing your work. Compartmentalise all the junk thats not needed in your head and just focus on your work. 

I hope these 8 tips somewhat give you an idea of how to chill and get your work done. I honestly think this post is for myself. I'm struggling in keeping everything afloat and I hope with the effort that I put in is enough to help me get through with a solid B. PLEASE...PLEASE...PLEASE....

till next time,

Wish me luck.

Pray I get through this!

Xx,

Sarah

I'm back from outer space!

Hi! I'm back. I know its been awhile since my last update but things have been super busy lately in the studio.

So if you have been following me on my instagram or twitter (ahem.ahem what yawl waiting for? :P), you'll know that I have been travelling to a few places recently. I went to LEGOLAND Malaysia, which is in Johor Bahru, South of Kuala Lumpur. It took us about 5 hours to get there by bus. Apart from that, I just recently got back from South Korea! :D

So what shall I update you on first? maybe chronological order? hahaha!

So I went to Legoland for a study on children activity for my studio's final project. Which is designing a kindergarten. Preferably known as a Children Early Education Centre or CEEC for short. It was really fun and I guess you can probably say we did more playing than actually working...I didn't take much photos of the place...but do check my instagram if you're interested. (I'm too lazy & tired to post them up here now)

A week after that, Izyan, Aina, Ong & I then flew to South Korea for a competition in CBNU, Jeonju.

South Korea was amazing ! and beautiful! and it was in Autumn. So the leaves were in amazing shades of orange, red & yellow. We   went there for about a week and we had a really great time.

The first day, Aina and I arrived a day earlier. We went and met up with our friend Ryu, who lives in Seoul and he took us to Dongdaemun where we saw the DDP designed by Zaha Hadid and we went to Namsan Tower to check out the night view of Seoul City and we made a "friendship"lock and locked it there among the lover's locks.

The next day we went to Jeonju where we got to work for the competition. We had 1 day preparation, and the next day we had to present our groups 8 months work. Im proud to say that my group had been blessed enough to win the runner's up title and was chosen to represent the university in this months competition which my group will be going at the end of this month.

Excited and nervous for it but i will be sure to update you more. Again I apologise for the absence but i will get things in order and start writing again!

Also, I'm currently reading Haruki Murakami's latest book. Its called "Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage". Will definitely let you guys know what i felt about this book. So far, I'm loving it!

LEGOLAND!

made completely out of lego 

:O

Dongdaemun Design Plaza by Zaha Hadid

At Gyeonggbbukgong palace

My buddy Shin :D

Gwanghwamun Gate at night

Road Side Noodles

CBNU!

Shin & Ryu in Seoul

Penny for my thoughts? Book of the month : The Kite Runner

Hi everybody! I know recently my posts have been quite sad and depressing and revolves around studio life...but today! no more! today i am writing about the book "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini and just telling you about how I enjoyed the story.

So the novel is Khaled Hosseini's first novel and was published 10 years ago (the cover is a special 10th anniversary edition) and I only started reading it recently. Along with other books such as Sherlock Holmes and If I stay. But I'm not here to talk about the other books (because as ya'll know...or don't... I like reading 3-4 books at a time) 

This book however, caught my attention and I definitely stuck with it. It did take me awhile to finish it because of the busy schedule I have, but every time I pick it up...Its almost always impossible for me to put it down. 

The way Khaled Hosseini tells the story is so easy and effortlessly that you wouldn't need a dictionary to refer to the words. There were words in them which were in Afghan language but he translates them at the side. So you don't have to constantly refer to the back of the page to see what it means or google translate it. 

The story itself is just breathtaking and amazing. Apart from that, the story which tells of the betrayal and salvation of the narrator takes you through a whirlwind of emotions and memories and I suppose thats what makes it addictive. I just couldn't put the book down. 

The story also revolves around the revolution of the narrator's country to the invasion of other forces. The political events are only part of the story...it made me feel very humble to be living in a peaceful environment and I pray to God that their fate doesn't happen to me or my country. Which, I know is very naive of me...but I just couldn't help feel sorry for the people in the story and at the same time feel very grateful and humble with the life I was born into. 

The Kite Runner, I would say is a powerful book that everyone should read. 

It left me breathless and its definitely on my favourite books list and I highly recommend those who haven't read it yet to stop everything you're doing and go get the book and read it. haha

Thats it for this book sharing review. The next book on my reading list is a bit of a funny one...but who cares! 

Xx,

Sarah

"For you, a thousand times over"

Project 1 : Signed, sealed, delivered.

Hi! It's been a crazy crazy week. and I am definitely sure its gonna be the same day in day out. But thats life right?

I am sorry I haven't been updating recently and I've been asked quite a bit about whats it like to be in architecture. (I'm not yet an architect, mind you).

So, where shall I start?

I'm not yet an architect. I'm an architecture student. And the life you've been told about sleepless nights, studio, crit session etc. is true.

Our projects for this semester is about designing a kindergarten in Nilai, a small town just outside of our university. Recently, we submitted our first project, which is a case study of 2 kindergartens. Its a group project and we had the freedom to choose which kindergarten to go to. Sounds really awesome right?

HAHAHA! we were rejected nearly 10 times by various kindergartens. They didn't allow us to conduct our case study at their kindergarten. Sucks, but we had to move on.

Eventually we managed to get 3 kindergartens and thank God managed to complete the work in time.

After the first project, we continued on to the 2nd project (current project) which is a site study. We are required to do a site analysis. and we need to send that in next thursday.

I think thats it for now...I pulled an all nighter last night and am in need of a good night's sleep! hahaha

Will talk more after I've regained my energy.

Sarah

Life of a tired...sleepy....architecture student

HI! it has been a crazy first week of the new semester. We were given a project on the very 1st day of our class (typical) but a deadline thats extremely packed to work with. Which suck btw. Tomorrow...or rather later today, my group members and I will be visiting a kindergarten for our precedent study.

The thing is...the kindergarten didn't reply to me with a feedback whether they would allow us to go and do a study on their kindergarten or not....

I really really really hope they don't throw us out....

Wish me luck and pray for the best!

xx,

Sarah

Korean wave

Hi ! Welcome back to my blog where I talk about almost anything and everything that goes on in the life of an architect to be. 

Recently, in the hype of the new semester (well...not really, yesterday was a public holiday & today class was canceled) I received a parcel from my friend Ryu in Korea!

In the parcel he gave me 4 books, a map, a letter & a small bubble wrapped package. The 4 books are books on Korean culture & language. A map of tourist destinations. The bubble wrapped package was filled in with a medium size pouch that was filled with 4 cute traditional clothed doll keychains. In the box, there was a handcrafted custom made seal, known as Dojang with my name written in Korean. I was completely ecstatic and touched by the gift. And I can't wait to meet up with him when I go to Korea!

That's it for today! I need to start running again....

Xx,

Sarah

Life of a would be architect

So yesterday was my first day of the new semester and the first day of my final year (inshallah) ! it got me thinking that after all the sleepless nights...after all the heartbreaks of studio interim crit....after all the midnight confessions of how I cant take it anymore....Im actually going on to my final year of architecture school! and you know what, all that had happen to me in the previous years, all the laughing...crying...madness and chaos of it all...I'm glad I walked down this road and it is all a learning process.

And since it is my final year, I am gonna learn and absorb as much as I can before it all ends!

After we heard the project briefing by our lecturers, we cleared up the studio and cleared our minds for the upcoming work to come.

This semester we will be designing a children early education centre or kindergarten or CEEC for short and we'll be dealing with kids and all. Our first project, which is due next thursday...is to create a video presentation + presentation board on a precedent study of an existing CEEC.

Lots of work ahead.

till next time,

Xx,

Sarah

My mum's thoughts on my all black apparel during 1st year of architecture : "I thought you were mourning for someone"

HELLO and welcome back! yes, the title above is exactly what my mum said to me recently as we were talking about clothes during one of our mother-daughter car trips. HAHA,

The story was that during my 1st year of architecture, I was very much influenced by my studio master. He liked to wear all black and well...I adopted his monotonous fashion style and wore pretty much all black during first year. HAHA! But now that I'm in 3rd year of architecture, I'd say my fashion style still purely revolves around versatile pieces and colours such as black, white & greys but I suppose I'm slowly trying to figure my style out.

But thats not the point of this blog post actually! hahaha unless..you want me to share my fashion...haha,

Tomorrow marks the first day of a new semester and the first day on my final year in architecture school. I actually cant believe this is happening. and I think it is overwhelming. I feel like going back into something that is new to me again and challenging. It is scary..but I know that this part of the learning process and that I must do my best. Don't give a f*ck (because I have under 18 readers here...) about outcomes but focus more on the learning process and accepting every critic with an open heart and open mind. And just do my absolute best.

On another story, my iPhone screen display decided to give up on me today! A day before my new semester! which totally sucks. The phone is ringing and doing what it does...EXCEPT SHOWING THE DISPLAY...so thats just really really sucky. I pretty much cant do anything. and cant be contacted. so...thats just double the fun. hahaha, However, thank God for the internet and dropbox and email and the tablet/ipad. I can at least access all that on my iPad...so it saves me the trouble of carrying my laptop around. Its like sort of going on a social detox but not one that you planned for.

So thats it for tonight's post. Thanks for tuning in! and I'll talk to you real soon!

Xx,

Sarah

Monthly Challenge #2

Hi~ I know I know...its the middle of the month...and I'm a bit too late to start on a monthly challenge. But its still September and we still need to get a monthly challenge done. For the greater good of humanity and all things sane in this world....SARAH MUST HAVE HER MONTHLY CHALLENGE. 

So I've been thinking a lot actually about this 2nd monthly challenge. Since, I just started this, so its a bit difficult to adjust to the blogging life, I suppose. But all in good vibes, I'm still gonna work on my blog and do more monthly challenges. Because I owe it to you supporters from all over the world. 

Last month's challenge was my first ever 10km marathon run. Which I wrote about in my post monthly challenge #1 : I DID IT on 8 August. I started off that monthly challenge (sort of like the theme of the monthly challenge) by deciding on doing something that I've never done before and to improve myself. The duration of 4 weeks enabled me to become a fitter & stronger person. And I actually finished my first 10km run in 1 hour 30 minutes! 

For this month, I've been thinking long and hard about this month's challenge and how on earth am I actually planning out these monthly challenges. But you know what...Its all in good fun and at the end of it all, the goal of each monthly challenge is 

1) to challenge myself

2) to feel good about myself

3) to try something I've never done before. 

And because of this, I have decided that this month's challenge would be :

TO DONATE BLOOD.

yes, you read that right. Just that. Donating blood. I seems like not a big deal, but it is to me. Because I've never donated blood before and I have a fear of blood + pain. So, I have decided that for the month of September, I will donate my blood in hopes that someone will be able to use my blood and get better.

So yeah, I'm actually pretty excited about this and about helping out. And well, I hope everything turns out and I will be able to donate my blood. I will let you know when and where I will be donating my blood to...and hopefully I will be gutsy enough to donate!

Xx,

Sarah

Cerita Semalam | night out at Thursdvys, Boat Noodle & seven cups

Hola! me llamo Sarah! and thats as far as my spanish can take me :P haha, hi guys and welcome back to my blog. where you forget about your problems and procrastinate on the internet! :D Thank you for tuning in and for your continuous support to those of you who have been following my blog. (shout out to you : Poland, US, UK, India, Australia & Malaysia!!) yeeesss...google gives me the ability to view where my readers are from. MUAHHAHA

ANEEWAAAYYSSS,

Yesterday I met up with a few of my best friends from primary school after almost 4-5 years of not seeing them! So we met up at Thursdvys, TTDI where my best friend works. I met up with Wan, Jasmeen & Amira. And I finally got to meet Hafiz (her bf) too. It was a great place to meet up and the place belongs to Amira's friend so it was a really chilled joint. I didn't take any photos though but definitely if you were to go there do taste their banana pudding! I absolutely loved it ;D 

After that, we went to Boat Noodle in Empire Damansara. Please don't be like me and get yourself confused with Empire Subang. I totally thought we were heading to Empire Subang (where Jibby & co was located). hahaha AGAIN, I didn't take any photos, so...apologies! but the food was really nice.

Boat Noodle is a vietnamese style noodle place. you have 2 option of Noodle style : Dry or Soup. and then you had the option of choosing either beef or chicken. I tried out the Beef soup noodle. I was sort of expecting it to be more like Pho Hoa, but I was wrong. The food came in a small bowl and the portion was not enough to feed me and you had to order more than 1 bowl to really feel full. So I had 5 bowls of beef soup noodle with a glass of chrysanthemum tea. 

I really wished I had taken a photo now. but i completely forgot...so..you're gonna have to imagine it (or you could just google after you read this post :P ) 

The soup was a peppery soup not the type like in Pho Hoa shop (thats the only vietnamese beef noodle soup I've been to so I'm just gonna have to compare it to that). I don't recall any veggies...but you did get a few beef balls. And since I ordered 5 (RM1.90 per bowl) I was really stuffed after having all that. The dry noodle (according to Hafiz, Amira's bf) was slightly less peppery and its suitable for those who cant stand spicy food. 

So after we had our fill, we went to the cashier to pay. Lo and Behold, they got our orders mixed up and long story short, my order was free of charge!! hahaha (thank you boat noodle~) Overall, I'd say it was delicious enough but the place is a bit cramped up. and you did have to wait till there was a table before you could sit in. 

After we had dinner at boat noodle, we went to Seven Cups, which is a coffee shop. I was too full after the big free dinner I had, I ended up not ordering anything. We just chilled and talked and had a good time. It was really nice catching up after so long. Just made me wonder how we'd be like in the future. But...I guess thats for another day to worry about. 

So thats it for tonight! thanks for reading and talk to you soon~ 

Xx,

Sarah

Cerita Semalam | Last day of internship

Hullo dear readers! How ya'll been doing? Welcome back to my blog where I write down all my thoughts and ramblings in hopes that it will one day be used for the greater good! KAHKAH!

Two days ago, I completed my internship program at Anuar Aziz Architects. As a farewell, they threw me a "surprised" farewell tea party. It was a very sad/happy moment for me and I will definitely miss all the people who helped me get through this hurdle and shared all their knowledge to me. They were very kind and patient and I am lucky to have met all these great people :D

Gerald, Edward & Mr Arman

My farewell Tea Party at Anuar Aziz Architects with my mentors :D

So, thats it for this post. Big thanks to those who has supported and taught me a lot throughout my internship!

Xx,
Sarah

Life of a would be architect.

TV and movies always depict architects as marvellous creatures, capable of creating spectacular designs and magnificent buildings. They depict the glitzy glamorous side of the world of architecture...The life that is only lived by the great grand masters of architecture. Though, to be honest...I wouldn't really know. I am not yet a "starchitect". (yet...the possibility is always there. heh heh)

Even so, the life I live now as an architecture student/intern...is definitely not what was depicted like in the anime, Honey and Clover. And I figured, since its the beginning of a new semester, I wanna share what its like to be an architecture student so that those who are stepping into this amazing world will know a bit about whats it like to study architecture. And hopefully I wouldn't discourage you would be architects...hahaha!

1) Architecture..is sort of like in the movies? [movie exp : 500 days of summer, The lake house, The Architect (korean film), anime : Honey & Clover]. Of course, the movies don't really show how exactly does an architect/architecture student work. Those movies I listed out are pretty much love stories and the story definitely revolves around that genre. HOWEVER, the image of a hot, mysterious, smartly dressed architect/architecture student isn't necessarily true. Sure the working architects are definitely dressed smart enough. In order to impress their clients and appear professional, they must...I cant say the same thing for architecture students...hahaha, there's no harm in dressing up smartly and neatly for class. In fact, our lecturers prefer that. But over time...you'll soon realise how tedious it is to allocate time to dress up when that precious time could be used for designing! (don't be ashamed of presenting in class after just waking up/ pulling an all-nighter/forgetting to shower in the morning...its normal enough) <==see...so not glamourous

2) You'll always be in studio. Almost. but pretty much all the time. Studio is a place where we work. Work long hours and work hard to get the creative juices flowing out of our brains and onto paper. But don't fret! you'll be surrounded by all your other stinky studio mates that it feels like one big slumber party. The studio becomes your 2nd home. Its the place where you eat, sleep, work, play and so on. We even shower there...

3) You'll hardly use A4 papers. In fact...I think the only time we actually use A4 papers is when we need to type out a report or our assignment. and forget about ball point pens and mechanical pencils. You'll be hearing a lot of 0.2,0.4,0.6 pens and various 4H,2H,H,HB,B,2B,6B,8B pencils.

4) save your money as much as you can. because the artsy fartsy stuff are always expensive. a single piece of balsa wood (depending on thickness) can have a range of RM11-RM20. FOR ONE PIECE. so...do the math, and save up as much as you can. don't overspend! cause you're gonna need your money for other things : printing, papers of various sizes and textures, pens, paints, pastels, pencils, markers etc.

5) There's no such thing as sleep . well you can sleep. and you should. but you'll hardly get enough sleep. unless you're some genius that can design and get everything right the first time. lucky you.

6) STUDIO TRIPS! aaaah my favourite part of it all. the studio trips! you get to go to places you wouldn't think of going and experience things you never thought you would. and by learning architecture...I personally feel that I am more appreciative of the culture of the area & its people. Architecture opens your eyes to things you never thought existed.

7) You'll always have to redo your design. and you know what? even in practice they have to do tons of amendments to their designs and its part of the learning process. It is difficult at first. Especially when you're not so talented in drawing like me and you need to understand what it is your lecturer/client wants. Don't get discourage when you are asked to redo your designs and change ALL OF YOUR BLOODY DRAWINGS. But instead, take it as a learning process and take in the criticism with an open heart and open mind.

8) other subjects are a bore. but they are good for you and you need to take them. Because not everyone's forte is design. And for the development of a person's mind, I believe that you should stop grumbling and just take the bloody subjects even though you feel like dying every time you have to go to class. because eventually it will be good for you. and it helps you get out of the studio and meet other people.

9) Your studio is your family. Especially if you're in a studio like mine where 90% are female. It becomes like a slumber party every time people stay overnight. hahaha even if your studio is not 90% female or male. You'll be spending the next 3 years (in Malaysia for part 1 degree is 3 years) with these people. You'll be sleeping, eating, playing, working with these people and the bond you create is strong enough to make you feel like you're part of a big family. Mi Familia, Archidod. ;D and your family always has your back, no matter what. :)

10) You'll feel very stressed out to the point of quitting. but before you give up, think of how YOU, out of all the people who also sat through the interview, YOU got into architecture school. And you have the strength in you to be able to get through it. I say this because its true. You'll feel like giving up. You'll feel like this isn't the life you want. And maybe it isn't. But you made it this far, so lets see how far you can go! Even the best of people doubt themselves at times but that makes them humble. They push through and they achieve something great. Its ok to feel shitty and sucky. but its not ok to quit and its not ok to forever feel sorry for yourself. Always be open to constructive criticism and be fair to yourself as well.

IF I could sum up what architecture is... I would say

Architecture is about solving problems in the most creative way. 

and to those of you who are taking architecture or planning to go into architecture, I wish you the best of luck and enjoy those years cause its the most awesome time of your life! :D

Xx,

Feeling more inspirational than ever tonight...

Oh! and I forgot to tell you, tomorrow is my last day interning at Anuar Aziz Architects. And I'm pretty sad that it has come to an end. I learnt a lot there about life of an architect on a daily basis and well... I'll leave that for tomorrow's entry post!

hehehe ;P

Xx for real now,

Sarah. The Soon To Be Architect. Inshallah.

Monthly challenge #1 : i did it!

Hello dear followers! and new readers and those who just happened to stumble across my blog. Hi! Its Sarah again and today is the day where I tell you and proudly share my glorious moment/achievement of my life with all of you today! (while I am wearing a facial mask ;D)

What is it, you ask? WELL....for the past month, I've been training myself for a challenge I put up in efforts to improve myself and also help people get motivated in challenging themselves and stepping out of their comfort zone.

So for the month of August, I had challenged myself into joining my first ever 10 km marathon. I trained myself with the help from B, various training apps (Nike+ running & training club) and other people who gave me tips and motivation throughout my training.

And I'm proud to say exactly a month from the date I started the monthly challenge:

I DID IT! I COMPLETED MY FIRST EVER 10 KM MARATHON RUN! and I've accomplished my August monthly challenge! Which is a big thing for me as this achievement marks the end of my monthly challenge for the month of August!

So here's how it went :

At 11pm the day before my race, I prepped my gear and set my alarm for the next day. Was determined to wake up at 5am the next morning so I can get to the race early and bask in the ambience of a marathon. That day, my family and I just got back from Ipoh as we went to Kuala Kangsar to pay our respects to a relative whom passed away on Friday. (we stayed over night in Ipoh and headed home on saturday afternoon). I was pretty tired and slept like a baby that night.

I slept so soundly that I actually didn't hear my alarm blasting at 5 in the morning on my race day! I eventually woke up at 6.30 am and in a panic checked for the race schedule. I completely forgot to check it the night before and my 10km race starts at 7.15 am!

I quickly jumped out of bed, ran to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. Put on my deodorant, I didn't even shower that morning (sorry y'all had to know that!) and got dressed as fast as I could. Mum was up and ready to send me and we were out of the house by 6.45am.

The problem was that on that day, it was Kuala Lumpur Car Free Morning. Which meant cars were not allowed to go in to the city centre and they had blocked out the roads for the race.

We took a detour and by that time it was already 7am. I was in a panic. It was my first marathon, so I had no idea how they run things. I was worried they wouldn't let me run anymore. but because I was so determined, I decided to just go.

Eventually we arrived near the race area. However the roads were blocked and I had to walk all the way for about 1 km to Dataran Merdeka where they had the race. At that time it was already 7.20 am. And I had missed the starting of my race.

I may have not been a marathon before, but I have been in an endurance horse race before and I know that they have a grace period for other riders to go in before they started the other races. I thought it was like that and I had no chance to reach it in time. But because I was already there, I decided to just run to Dataran Merdeka and hope that they will still let me in.

So I actually ran all the way from Medan Tuanku station near SOGO and reached Dataran Merdeka exactly at 7.30am. At that moment the organisers had started the 5KM run. I joined in the run with the 5km runners. At first it was ok, as there were room for fresh air to ventilate through.

However, once we reached the tunnel towards the National Mosque....The air grew hot and heavy and I could feel...literally feel everyones carbon dioxide filling up the air above us. Being only 5Ft...It was pretty stuffy for me amongst the sweaty pits and heavy breathing of my fellow runners.

Finally after that first hurdle, we reached the 1km mark. By that time, everyone was starting to slow down. They used up too much energy during the starting and some even decided to walk. I continued at my own pace and thanking God for the fresh air that saved me after the stuffiness of the tunnel...

We continued on and passed by various tourist places that were not as busy as the main roads. We passed by the bird park, planetarium, orchid park, butterfly park, Bukit Aman police headquarters and so on around the area. I can only name some of the places as I was still conscious of where I was. 

At the 3km mark there were the refreshment stands. I decided I wasn't gonna wait till the next 3km, so I took a cup and drank while I walked. After that I pushed on. Normally, a 3km run for me would take me 30 mins. this time, probably because of the excitement, I completed my 3km in 17mins. I didn't marvel at the time as I knew there was a long way to go and I just kept on pushing on.

During my training prior to the marathon, people kept on telling me that there would be a point where I would regret my decision in joining a marathon. Honestly, I was expecting myself to give in to that and walk for most of my 10km. SURPRISE SURPRISE! I didn't feel that way. In fact, I felt good about myself. And I felt even better after the 5 km runners had turned to their track and the 10km had to go on further up the hills. 

I felt good cause everyone I passed by was walking all the way. And I'm proud to say that I didn't! *YEAAAHHH* I continued going slow and steady. At the pace I was comfortable in. I could feel their brain waves going "how on earth can she run??" and "what the heck this girl!" well..sorta. Hahaha it was all in my head and probably my subconscious self was trying to motivate my conscious self by boasting. -_- 

So yeah I continued on, pushed on...and eventually I MADE IT!

I made it to the finishing line and I completed my 10KM marathon strong! :D 

So thats it for my August Challenge! :D Thanks for reading and hope you managed to accomplish your goal of the month! Will write to you soon~

Xx,

Sarah

Monthly Challenge #1 : Final Hurdle!

Hullo everyone! its finally the weekend! and its currently 11.31pm on a saturday night. Yes...i'm staying in, because...

TOMORROW IS MY FIRST 1OKM MARATHON RUN!

and the end of my monthly challenge (i hope). 

I've prepped myself to the best of my abilities. I've ran countless of times. and worked on my health and fitness. Its only been a month, but I do feel the difference. I feel much stronger, healthier and definitely a lot fitter too ;D hehehe I do realise that just because tomorrow might be the end of my first monthly challenge doesn't mean its the end of my new running regime (I say might...because it depends on the weather tomorrow morning. lately its been raining every morning)

I may reduce the number of runs per week, but I am still going to maintain my fitness and hopefully by February next year, I'm much fitter ! (if i don't succumb to the temptations of cream puffs and cheese tarts)

Because I want to maintain my running fitness and hopefully take part in other marathons in the future, I've created my own program (well..not really my own program...nike+ app created it for me) hahaha that includes a Nike+ training app program for the days I might not be able to run.

Apart from that, I am gonna start my semester soon. So I need to work on my schedule. I'm really excited about my run tomorrow. However, I'm not running with Amal as she is in Johor, her hometown, which is 5 hours away from KL. I'll be running with my cousin. Maybe. If she turns up....

Its getting late! and I need to wake up at 5am. will update about the race~

Xx,

Sarah

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The Wilhelm Scream

Love... its painful. Love is hurtful. Love is the worst thing that could ever happen. And yet, its the one thing we all cant live without.

I know that eventually we won't be together. But I'm far too deep in this relationship we built together to turn back now. I guess, we'll just have to see where things go now.


X,

Cerita Semalam | Kuala Lumpur Vintage Festival & Merdeka Weekend

Hi fellow doodlers! Welcome back to my blog! 

First of all I'd like to apologise for not posting up recently. It has been a crazy week and a lot of events were going on. And I haven't had the time to update you when I reached home. But today, I'm back and ready to share with you about my weekend adventure! 

The past weekend, we had a long break here in Malaysia as it was Malaysia's 57th Independence Day ! Or also known as Hari Kemerdekaan Ke-57 on Sunday. So it was a really long weekend where I sort of got the chance to relax from the mentally tiring week of internship. Hahah like as if it was so tiring...-_- 

30th August 2014 : Kuala Lumpur Vintage Festival

Photo : KL vintage festival official Facebook page

So my weekend started off with the usual Saturday morning routine. Woke up early and went for my weekly horse riding at the Equestrian Centre in Bukit Kiara about 15 minutes drive from where I live. My instructor, had me on a lunging rope and I worked on my sitting trot. Needless to say, my whole body was aching after that session. (But I definitely had loads of fun!)

After my fun yet torturous ride, I got ready and head on over to KL sentral to meet up with my studio mates, Naz & Aina. We then took the Monorail and stopped at Maharajalela station next to Stadium Merdeka where the Vintage Festival was held. (I also watched My Chemical Romance here when they came to Malaysia. Mikey if you're reading this, I love you. You smiled at me :P ) hahaha ok ok back to the story. 

So as we walked towards the entrance there was an exhibition by the armed forces just outside the stadium. They were from the army, the navy, the Air Force, the police and even from the fire brigades. They even had a demonstration of a car accident rescue mission. Which was cool and very loud. They had rammed the cars into each other and the fire fighters had to demonstrate how they rescued victims.

So after checking the armed forces exhibition out, we walked on to the entrance and we had to pay entrance few of RM1 which is equivalent to USD 0.32 (bloody hell that's so cheap!) anyways it was a cheap entrance fee and we got a cool looking vintage-like sticker once we made payment and entered the vacinity. 

Once we walked in, we saw rows of tents and vendors down on the field. the DJ's were playing classic 1950's music from P.Ramlee & Saloma. Malaysia's legendary iconic power couple of the 50's. They are Legendary cause the movies and music P.Ramlee and his wife makes are evergreen and has entertained Malaysians for generations. And also cause my Grandpa had met them at work and had smoked with P.Ramlee.

So, Naz, Aina and I walked down to the field and we went about checking out the cool stuff that were on display and that were being sold. They had items from the 50's till the 70's. Even had a few vintage clothing that were pre-loved and some were brand new. 

Vespa and antiques galore!

Collectibles! :D

Shoes shoes shoes from Addastore

The whole scene was cool and interesting. It was like a huge thrift market and the pre-loved clothes were really cheap. I was tempted to buy a really cool looking vintage dress but was too late and the dress fell into the hands of a lucky buyer. 

So we went around and that's when i saw them. 

The most perfect looking, gorgeous pair of boots. 

Burgundy Boots from Addastore IG: addastore

They were exactly what I was looking for and had aimed to find in Korea. (I'll make a haul blog post soon where I'll talk about that more) 

After much consideration and much irrational thought. I bought them for RM60 (USD20) which is still quite expensive to me. But I didn't mind. Cause I've been searching for these type of boots for a very very long time.

Naz got herself a pair of sunglasses and Aina went on to search for a pair of Dr Martens. Sadly for a pair of pre-loved dr martens, they were expensive. So we poisoned her mind into buying a pair of new Dr Martens hehehe

Kuala Lumpur Vintage Festival!! we were here!

Vintage cars galore!

From the top of the stairs at the KLVF signage

Jepah and Ena

TEEHEE!

So after Aina got her shoes, we went on to Pavilion where we had dinner and followed by coffee at Tous Les Jours, Bukit Bintang. Then we went back home. 

31st August 2014 : Merdeka day & parade!

The next day, mum, sophia and I woke up super early and went down to Dataran Merdeka to watch the Independence day parade. It is our 57 year anniversary and it was my 2nd time going to watch the parade. The first time I went to the parade, I was a little kid about 5 years old. Don't remember much of it. But there's a photo of me saluting. hahaha 

So we woke up at 6.30 am and made our way to the central KL. By the time we arrived it was 7.10 am and there were A LOT OF PEOPLE! I suggest, for those who intend to come and watch the parade, especially to those who have never been to Malaysia before and would like to experience it, I suggest 2 options. 

Option 1 : wake up freaking early. and get there like freaking early. 

Option 2 :  rent a hotel that overlooks the parade. HAHA

Physically being there is completely different than watching it on TV. For one, you are surrounded by fellow Malaysians that sometimes you wish you could punch the living crap out of them. But at the same time you sort of feel the unity there. United in celebrating our country's independence.

There were all sorts of people. From all walks of life and background. But at that moment, we were all there in unity as we cheered for our heroes and remembered those who had fallen in battle so that we can experience the peace we have now. 

To me, it was really a heart warming experience for me. As I come from a family that served in the Navy and the Army. Just being there and cheering on for those who are in the armed forces who sacrificed everything to keep their beloved country and people safe, people whom they don't know and may never know, was just a very heart warming experience for me. And my thoughts, prayers and gratitude goes to those heroes. 

Walking towards Dataran Merdeka

Fellow Malaysians!

Disini lahirnya sebuah cinta

My favourite part of the parade! the marching bands!

Volunteers in traditional clothes

K-9 division

Horses !!!

I love my country!

So thats it for today's Cerita Semalam | Kuala Lumpur Vintage Festival & Merdeka Weekend! I need to go and I'm just gonna have to cut it short here. Hope you enjoyed reading! And thank you for your continuous support! I promise to write more soon!

Xx,

Sarah